Created By: Cheo Hodari Choker
Starring: Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Jaiden Kaine, Rosario Dawson, Ron Cephas Jones, Karren Pittman, Eric LaRay Harvey, Mahershala Ali
Rating: 15
Running Time: 13 episodes
Release Date: 30/09/2016
LUKE CAGE is the third series to be released under the Netflix/Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) saga. Following from the outstanding DAREDEVIL and the surprise success, JESSICA JONES. All of these shows share a universe with the AVENGERS series of movies. With that being said, LUKE CAGE had a tall order living up to these shows. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite pull it off. However, that’s not to say that it got nothing right. Audiences may remember LUKE CAGE from his appearance in the previously mentioned, JESSICA JONES.
LUKE CAGE follows the story of our titular character (Mike Colter) settling down in Harlem after being on the run from his mysterious past. Settling does not seem to be an option, however, as gangster Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali) wants Harlem for himself. In order to save his city, Luke Cage must fight to take back what’s his. With his cousin, Council Woman Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard), and his right-hand man, Shades (Theo Rossi), Cottonmouth will path the way for the biggest threat of Cage’s past to come back and haunt him.
As viewers have come to expect from a Netflix/Marvel collaboration, the cinematography is incredible. Each scene is shot with such care and attention to detail, audiences cannot help but admire the beauty brought out of Harlem. The lighting on Cage’s character throughout the season has a subtle hint of yellow, referencing back to his comic book days while simultaneously looks stunning. On the other side of the coin, Cage’s fighting scenes are filmed in such a way that you never get to truly see the power behind his character, which is quite disappointing.
This is your standard gangster affair. The plot is disappointingly generic. There are very few original aspects to show the story unfolds, episode by episode. Each twist or surprise was predictable, robbing the audience of any sense of wonder or intrigue towards any characters actions or motivations. Another plot point for this show would be the Council Woman trying to build up a black community in Harlem. On the surface, this is fine, however, this show tries so hard to drive home the race of these characters, repeating the same speeches in slight variations over and over again. This becomes very tiresome, very fast.
That’s not to say that this show is poorly written, in fact, it’s far from it. The character development for the main cast is planned out so well, that you can’t help but fall in love with your heroes, and wish a plague of locusts upon the villains. Let’s take a second to talk about the villains. Although they are outstandingly generic, the writers take their time and build a strong, perfect connection between themselves and Cage. It is because of this connection that you can feel the hatred Cage has for Cottonmouth inside yourself, and that adds weight.
Now, these emotions would not be felt by the audience if not for the writing, but also the performances from our cast. Mike Colter brings Luke Cage to life. He brings a true sense of power to this role that you genuinely believe that he could very well be bulletproof. Colter also carries incredible amounts of charm and humour to this character which is exactly what is needed to ground him in reality, capturing the hearts of the audience from the very first scene.
Colter isn’t the only one to bring home a spectacular performance. Rosario Dawson returns as her character, Claire Temple (known to comic fans as Night Nurse), from the shows DAREDEVIL and JESSICA JONES. Throughout her entire time in the MCU, Dawson has brought her badassery on to the small screen. Claire’s wisdom and willingness to help all of these super powered people is truly brought to life by Dawson’s performance. She is definitely one of the greatest characters to be developed in the Netflix series.
There would be something very wrong with me if I left this review before talking about the soundtrack to this show. A prominent location through the season is Cottonmouths club, Harlem’s Paradise. During the time spent inside this club, the soundtrack is provided by live performances from various different artists. A refreshingly original way to insert a soundtrack into the fray, which is a nice change of pace, given the generic nature of some other aspects to this show. The music itself has been very carefully chosen to not only set the mood of each scene, but the emotion running through the characters mind at any given time.
I would recommend this show, it is beautifully shot, extremely well written and the lead cast gives performances to be proud of. The story, although quite generic, both ties in nicely and continues to push forward the arc of the interconnecting Marvel series and provides enough questions to keep you coming back for more.
Verdict
LUKE CAGE is available to stream from Netflix now.
Please follow and like us:
